Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“Go.” He jerks his chin toward the fountain. “Don’t worry.” His gaze darkens. “I won’t let you get far.”
I swallow hard, then trudge away from him. Having him at my back feels like the height of foolishness, but I keep going. I slip in a particularly muddy patch of grass but right myself and hurry until I reach the silent fountain. The basin is filled with what must be rainwater. Green algae clogs the surface and the depths, and tiny tadpoles wiggle their way through the muck. A frog jumps into the upper basin, splashing a little as it disappears.
When I glance over my shoulder, Valen is gone. Even though I can’t see him, I know he’s watching me. I can feel his attention. It’s almost like a touch, like a firm grip on my shoulder or a collar around my throat.
This place must’ve been beautiful once. A long, long time ago. The wind blows in a small gust, making waves along the surface of the murky water. It’s beautiful in its own way. A microcosm. A world of cells and bacteria, organisms and fungi. I used to be part of a world like that, studying it. Now I’m interred underground as it all falls apart.
I look to the sky again, my thoughts wandering. Outside this crumbling garden, the world is still there. But what does it look like now? How many more lives have we lost to the plague? How many cities have the vampires razed in their impossible quest to kill every last one of us?
Rising, I intend to make the most of my time outside. I keep going, moving past the brambles and wildly branching roses and into rows of orchard trees. Rotten apples litter the ground, their scent perfuming the air with sweetness and hints of decay. I breathe it in, my feet moving faster as I search for any lingering fruit on the branches. Emerging from the trees, I stop to catch my breath. Out of shape is an understatement, but I relish the burn in my side. This pain is worth it. I accept it with arms wide open, my face upturned to the murky sky.
Lingering among the trees, I spend long moments just looking at the greenery, taking in all the colors and sounds I’ve missed. Birds and bugs, bright greens and subdued browns. No harsh gold, nothing gilded, nothing false. Just nature. It heals the smallest of fractures inside me, though the larger ruptures remain.
Movement in the grass catches my attention, and I stand and step toward it. Out from a clump of crabgrass shoots a rabbit, its brown fur perfect camouflage amid the leaves and brambles. It disappears into a bush at the edge of the garden. Beside it is a statue of a kneeling woman.
I pull my sweater more tightly around me, the wind picking up again as I walk over to the statue, bending down slightly to avoid some low-hanging tree limbs. Her hair has streaks of lichen in the crevices, but her face is smooth and unmarred. She’s looking up, her gaze on something above the horizon, her expression calm but also somehow sad.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?”
I jump and whirl. Valen lingers at the edge of the tree branches, his marred face shadowed by the dying light.
“Who is she?”
“Come, it’s time to go.” He holds out his hand. “You’ve had enough fresh air to continue surviving.”
I want to argue, to say anything if it means more time outdoors. But I know there’s no point. Valen has already made clear this little trip isn’t for me, not really.
With one more look at the statue, I turn and walk away, ignoring Valen’s offered hand.
“You wound me, little rabbit.” He matches my pace with ease.
I glance at the injury across his cheek. “Not me, sadly.”
He only gives a smirk in response.
“You should have that looked at.”
“Worried for me?” he taunts.
“You know what? Never mind. I hope it rots your entire head off your body.”
His smirk becomes a half smile, his eyes flashing as he leads me into the elevator. “Not possible, though you have such a way with words. By the way, what part of the Hippocratic Oath is that sentiment?”
“Pretty sure that only applies to people,” I snap back as the elevator begins its descent back into hell. “You’re a monster.”
“Fair point.” He invades my space, stepping toward me as I back away. “Are you saying you wouldn’t help me if I asked?”
My back hits the elevator wall as I stare up at him. He’s too close. I’m trapped.
“I—” My voice creaks to a halt as he leans closer, his lips ghosting against my ear.
“Please help me, little rabbit,” he whispers.
“Stop.” I shove at him.
He doesn’t move, not even the slightest sway of his body. He’s as much stone as the statue in the garden. “Maybe that’s where you went wrong. How you got captured like the foolish little rabbit you are. You were probably helping when you should’ve run. Instead of saving your own life, instead of being smart. But that’s who you are, isn’t it? Hopeful and optimistic all the way to your grave. You and all the rest of your kind.” His voice turns even more bitter, the force of it like a blow. “Will you still think there’s going to be a tomorrow when the dirt is piling on your coffin?”